Theater Therapy

A recent study published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology reveals that watching romance movies with your partner and then engaging in constructive discussions about the relationship implications afterward “can be just as effective” as more formalized “therapist-led methods.” A three-year analysis of 174 newlywed couples showed that those who participated in the “movie-and-talk” approach actually fared as well as those who completed the more rigorous “conflict management” and “compassion and acceptance” therapies. “All three methods halved the divorce-and-separation rate to 11 percent compared to the 24 percent rate among the couples in the control group,” according to a press release.